Apple today officially announced that its Retail Stores will begin selling the new iPad at 8:00am on March 16th. Apple retail stores will open early for the sale of  the new iPad was leaked just a day ago and now that rumor has been confirmed.

Pricing & Availability
The new iPad Wi-Fi models will be available in black or white starting on Friday, March 16 for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, and $699 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad Wi-Fi + 4G for ultrafast 4G LTE networks in the US and Canada and fast 3G networks around the world including those based on HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA, will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores, and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Additionally, the incredible iPad 2 is now offered at a more affordable price of $399 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and just $529 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G model. iOS 5.1 and iTunes 10.6 are currently available as free software updates. iPhoto, iMovie 1.3 and GarageBand 1.2 are now available for $4.99 (US) each from the App Store (www.itunes.com/appstore). Keynote 1.6, Pages 1.6 and Numbers 1.6 are available for $9.99 (US) each from the App Store. Updates are available for free to existing customers.

Starting March 23 the new iPad will be available in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.